Sunday, May 3
On Meet the Press, Senator Arlen Specter was beside himself when David Gregory quoted him as saying to the President that he would be a "loyal Democrat."
[Y]ou misquote me, David. I did not say I would be a loyal Democrat. I did not say that. And last week, after I said I was changing parties, I voted against the budget...
Fair enough! Given the chance to clarify, Specter added:
I did not say I'm a loyal Democrat. You know I read once another mistake in the newspaper-some newspaper.
Ok...
Meanwhile on CNN with John King, Congressman Joe Sestak defined his expectations of candidate Specter,
What I need to know is, what's he running for? And second, how will he use his leadership-which didn't seem to work in the Republican party-to better shape us? If he has the right answer, so be it, we move on.
Asked by King whether Specter was a good enough Democrat, Sestak replied "I'm not sure he's a Democrat yet."
Monday, May 4
Having given no indication that he is indeed a Democrat aside from aligning with the party for the 2010 general election campaign, Specter continued his campaign on the all-too important issue of saving his own job. At a townhall meeting in Hershey, PA:
Do I want to stay in the Senate? Of course I do. Do you like your jobs? Sure you do.
See? He's just like y'all. Not inspired? Neither was SEIU President Andy Stern, who that day made clear that his union's support would be based on the issues and not on cronyism:
[I]t is hard to imagine any union supporting a candidate in the Democratic Party for the US Senate who doesn't have strong positions on both healthcare and Employee Free Choice.
The same day, Stern met privately with Rep. Sestak and even added the comment "Sestak is serious about Senate race" to his Twitter feed.
Tuesday, May 5
On the heels of Andy Stern's statement, AFL-CIO spokesman Eddie Vale left little room for doubt on his union's level of enthusiasm:
Endorsement decisions for Pennsylvania are made by the workers in Pennsylvania and the State AFL-CIO Federation, not in DC.
Not at all helping his cause, Specter set off a miniature firestorm that night when a forthcoming interview with the New York Times Magazine was published online:
NYTM: With your departure from the Republican Party, there are no more Jewish Republicans in the Senate. Do you care about that?
AS: I sure do. There's still time for the Minnesota courts to do justice and declare Norm Coleman the winner.
Oy. Memo to Senator Specter: Al Franken is Jewish too, so it's all kosher. Attempting and failing miserably to walk back the gaffe, Specter said, "In the swirl of moving from one caucus to another, I have to get used to my new teammates."
Before the night was out, the Senate Democratic Conference voted unanimously to deny Specter seniority on each of his five committees during this Congress.
Wedneday, May 6
Perhaps spooked by the lack of confidence among his peers, Specter reasserted the only marketable principle to his re-election bid:
Senator Reid assured me that I would keep my committee assignments and that I would have the same seniority as if I had been elected as a Democrat in 1980. It was understood that the issue of subcommittee chairmanships would not be decided until after the 2010 election. Some members of the caucus have raised concerns about my seniority, so the caucus will vote on my seniority at the same time subcommittee chairmanships are confirmed after the 2010 election.
Having asserted his entitlement to seniority, then losing it, Specter seems to have entitled himself to a victory in 2010 and seniority thereafter (even though that would be the prerogative of the Democratic caucus anyway-weird how these Democrats work now-a-days).
The ongoing tailspin did not escape the sight of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, who that day began conducting an online poll of voters to counter those previously published by Specter's former employees at Public Opinion Strategies. The poll asked "Should a Draft Sestak movement be created to take on Sen. Arlen Specter in the Pennsylvania Democratic primary?"
Thursday, May 7
Sestak had been hitting Specter hard and often on the cable news shows all week, but took a step back to discuss replacing the maligned "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy on the Rachel Maddow Show, likely content at this point to let Specter punch himself out.
Eager not to disappoint, Specter continued to voice confusion over his 'temporary' junior status, and his status in general as a Democrat. Majority Leader Reid having promised that Specter would at least fall in line with Democrats over minor procedural votes, Fox News asked for clarification from the Senator and were told "I'm going to have to talk to Sen. Reid about that."
Great googly-moogly. In response to Fox, Reid could only say (in my nomination for quote of the week):
I have talked since Monday night of last week on Specter. I'm not going to talk any more about it. I have explained and re-explained and the re-explaining is over with.
Friday, May 8
Now for the sleaziest bit of news from the week, as it is proven that Specter's campaign for a cancer cure is indistinguishable from his re-election campaign. The website SpecterForTheCure.com, which describes itself as a "bold new initiative to reform our government's medical research efforts" is proven to be funneling money directly to the 2010 re-election bid. In their defense? Hey, it might be legal. Whoop-de-doo.
Understandably, Specter cut a deal in the middle of the night to finally come on board with centrist Democrats voting for the Employee Free Choice Act. The act of desperation was facilitated by Diane Feinstein.
Saturday, May 9
As of Saturday morning, 826 Pennsylvanians had answered the PCCC poll, along with 6,034 voters nationally. The numbers: 85% of Pennsylvanians and 87% of all surveyed said "Yes."
Wow. What a week! I can't wait to see what happens next. It's like that NBC show where everyone is a king or something, I forget how it goes.
To keep up to date on these and other stories, join the mighty Facebook group Congressman Sestak, PLEASE challenge Senator Specter. |
